The Cosium Triplets
by Marialine
Summary: Inspired and some of the characters by LiyuConberma from DeviantArt. Shadow, Sonic and Silver aren't friends nor at they enemies but what happens when they get exchanged with their younger alternate selves that are from a different dimension?
1. A Kingdom Called Cosium…

**_A/N Note that this was inspired by LiyuConberma from DeviantArt and her comics Teen's Play and Children's Play. The plot is lightly the same but entirely. Even the universe has differences! You'll see what I mean. Enjoy!_**

**_P.S. Cosium and characters from Cosium aren't mine. They belong to LiyuConberma_**

**_X_**

Once upon a time, in a zone and timeline far, far away, there was a wonderful and peaceful kingdom called the Kingdom of Cosium…

"Can't catch me, Shadow! You can't either, Silver!"

"No fair, Sonic! You got a head start!"

"And I can't run as fast as you and Shadow!"

"Still! Ha-ha-ha!"

…well, almost peaceful. At least the kingdom was wonderful.

Anyway, in the Royal Garden of Cosium, there were three brothers playing around. They were all 5 years of age but each of them looked different; one had azure fur, emerald eyes, peach arms, muzzle and tummy with a necklace with a seashell pendant, another had ebony fur, ruby eyes, white chest fur and tan muzzle with a necklace with a golden ring through it while the last had albino fur, amber eyes, white chest fur, and tan muzzle with a necklace with an emerald gem on it. What makes them more related to each other is that they were triplets brothers.

"Sonic!" Silver Hedgehog, the second eldest and the one with the albino fur, cried out as he and his older brother chased over their little one. "Slow down!"

"Can't catch me!" Sonic Hedgehog, the youngest among the three and the one with azure fur, giggled as he used his speed to run off.

"Sonic, come back here!" Shadow Hedgehog, the eldest among them and the one with ebony fur, struggled to use his own speed to catch up. "Sonic! Come on!"

Sonic chose to ignore and kept on running, laughing.

"Ha-ha-ha! You guys are so—oof!"

Suddenly, he bumped onto someone and fell on his back.

"Ow~" he rubbed his aching head and groaned.

"Well, well, looks like someone was in quite a rush,"

Sonic looked up and let out a happy laugh. "Papa!"

King Kaze Hedgehog, the current king of Cosium, smirked before picking up his youngest and tickling his tummy. Sonic squealed and giggled more.

"Papa, that tickles!" he laughed.

"Oh, does it now?" Kaze chuckled.

"Yeah, papa! It tickles! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

The two burst into laughter as Shadow and Silver came to a stop in front of them. Kaze spotted them and swiftly picked them up, making all of them laugh more as the triplets were bounced around in their father's arms.

"Papa! Papa!" the three giggled and cheered.

"Oh, boys!"

The four turned and the triplets hopped off before running to the source of the voice; their mother Queen Sapphire Merhog, the current queen of Cosium and the wife of Kaze.

"Mama!" the brothers jumped, wrapping their arms around their mother and hugging her.

"Oh, the three of you are so adorable!" Sapphire giggled as she hugged them back.

Kaze smiled and joined his family, pulling them all into a huge bear hug. They all laughed at the surprise cuddle, their voices possibly heard across the kingdom.

"Alright, Kaze," Sapphire's laughter ceased but her smile didn't. "that's enough. We need to head back yo the castle and let the children play,"

"Alright, Sapphire," Kaze placed the triplets down. "Go on, boys! Off you go!"

"Bye, Papa!" the brothers ran off into another part of the garden, waving their father goodbye before playing another game of Tag.


	2. A Zone Called Möbius…

**_A/N Told ya that there are a lot of different parts than in the OG comic. Please enjoy!_**

**_X_**

"Are you sure about this, Sonic?" Bernadette Hedgehog looked over at her only son with concern. "You know that those two are capable of ANYTHING! They might hurt you!"

"I'll be fine, Mom," Sonic Maurice Ogilvie Hedgehog, the Hero of Möbius, grinned, giving his mother a thumbs up and a wink. "I can take care of myself! Now sweat!"

"I agree, Bernie," Jules Hedgehog, Bernadette's husband and the last Robian (Robot mobian) of Möbius, nodded with agreement, placing a hand on his son's shoulder. "He's handled much more dangerous stuff than this. We should let him be,"

"Jules, stop defending him!" Bernadette snapped. "I'm just worried that those two are going to finish you off when your guard is down!"

"Oh, Mom!" Sonic placed his hands on his hips. "I never let my guard down! That I guarantee!"

"Besides," Jules added. "Tails and Cyrus would be there to help out if there's any trouble. They will test out Cyrus's new machine in Freedom Fighter HQ so Sonic's got back-up. Trust him,"

"Oh, alright!" Bernadette groaned in defeat. "I'll let you take Silver back to his time with the help of Shadow but DON'T put your guard down on them. Alright, my baby boy?"

She pulled her son into a tight hug and Sonic sighed. "Alright, Mom. I got it. I'll keep my guard up. Always,"

"Good." Bernadette let go and Sonic zoomed out of the front door.

Outside stood his rivals/frenemies Shadow Robotnik Hedgehog, the Ultimate Life-Form, and Silver Hedgehog, a Psychokinetic being from the Future.

"Hey, guys!" he greeted them with his usual enthusiasm.

Shadow grunted in reply, turning away with folded arms. Silver ignited the other hedgehog but was able to smile back and walked towards the azure one.

"Hi, Sonic," he said. "Ready to go?"

"Yep!" Sonic gave him a thumbs up.

"Good." Shadow groaned. "Let's go to get this over with."

The other two nodded then they went on their way to Freedom HQ.

From an open window in the kitchen, Bernadette worriedly watched them leave, her mouth curling up to a frown as her eyebrows furrowed.

"Honey, calm down," Jules came to her side. "Sonic will be fine. He promised us that he'll take care of himself,"

"Oh, I know," Bernadette sighed. "But I still have a bad feeling of what might happen to him…"


	3. The Accidental Switch

**_A/N Sorry if the first two chapters were short. This will be a long one! Promise! Enjoy!_**

**_P. S. Remember that in Cosium, Sonic, Shadow and Silver are 5 years old and in Möbius, they're 16!_**

**_Also… I'm a Yaoi (Boy x boy) lover/shipper! :p_**

**_X_**

In Cosium…

"Tag, you're it again, Silver!" Sonic giggled before he and Shadow began to run off.

"Hey!" Silver frowned, annoyed. "That's not fair! I'm always it!"

Shadow stopped in his tracks and turned to his younger brother. "Huh? What's wrong with being it, Silver?"

"It's just unfair!" Silver pouted, sitting down on the grass with his legs crossed. "Whenever we play Tag, you and Sonic always get an upper hand because you both can run fast. I'm not allowed to use my psychokinesis because it's cheating and I'm always the it! That's why I hate playing Tag, especially with Sonic!"

Sonic came to stop the moment he overheard what his older brother had said. His face fell to a tearful frown as he ran back to his albino brother, his ears pinning.

"Y-You hate playing with me?" he sniffled his tears as he looked up at the other.

Silver tried to stay mad but his youngest brother looked too pitiful when he was sad so he sighed and shook his head.

"That's not what I mean, little brother," he clarified as he pulled his brother into a hug. "I mean it's unfair that we play Tag and you and Shadow get to use your Super Speed and I don't get to use my own power. If we can't be fair on this game, can we at least play something else?"

Sonic's face lit up as a bright smile stretched across his muzzle. "Okay! Let's play a different game!"

Shadow smiled, watching his brothers get along again before his attention was directed to something, or someone, else.

"Hey, look!" the others turned at who their eldest brother was pointing at. "Trails's over there!"

"Let's go see what he's doing!" Sonic jumped then zoomed towards the wolf.

"Sonic, wait up!" Silver ran after their little brother with Shadow behind him.

Meanwhile, Trails Wolf, a young three-tailed wolf inventor, was working on an invention of his as he was talking to someone in his crystal ball.

"So when are you going back to the Ice Empire?" a gentle voice of a male could be heard from the crystal ball.

"Glacier," Trails chuckled. "for the hundredth time, we always visit you around Spring so…Spring,"

"Aww…that's too bad," Glacier Fox, an Arctic Fox and the Prince of the Ice Empire, replied with a playful frown. "I miss you so much, bestie!"

Trails's ears pinned as they flushed with his cheeks, making him turn away from the crystal ball. "…h-how much?"

"Trails and Glacier, sitting in a tree~!" Trails suddenly turned to the triplet hedgehogs, who were all singing to tease the wolf. "K-I-S-S-I-N—GAH!"

The three ran off as Trails began to chase them. "Come back here, you three!"

As they did, Glacier obviously heard them and was blushing deeply. But then, he knew that it was time to take his leave.

"O-Okay," he said. "talk to you later, Trails! Bye, boys!"

Then, the call went off as Trails chased the brothers back to his little workshop. Sonic spotted the gizmos on the table and immediately came to a stop, making his older brothers stop behind him.

"What is this?" the young azure prince's emerald eyes widened in curiosity.

"No touchy." Trails sternly told them. "Now, PLEASE, run along before I drag you three out…"

But then, neither of the three were listening.

"What is this, Trails?" Sonic zoomed on the table and looked around.

"Oooh, what does it do?" Silver was just as curious as he tiptoed to see the top of the table.

"What are you using these crystals for?" Shadow asked, holding out a glowing blue crystal that he found on the ground.

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!" Trails grabbed Sonic and pried him from his desk.

"Hey, let me go!" the azure one struggled.

"I said 'NO'! It's too dangerous!"

Shadow and Silver watched them until the albino brother saw another blue crystal on the ground.

"Huh?" he picked it up with his psychokinesis. "What's this?"

"Mm?" His older ebony brother turned his attention to his younger brother. "Silver, what are you doing?"

Silver didn't reply as he raised the crystal higher towards the machine.

"Oh come on!" Sonic frowned as he folded his arms at Trails, who was holding him. "What's the worse thing that could happen?"

BOOOOOOOOM!

The two turned to see Trails's mirror activated with a strong force that was pulling Sonic's brothers towards it.

"SHADOW, SILVER, GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!" Trails yelled, gripping tightly to Sonic's hand.

"Uh, T-Trails…" Shadow's ears pinned and his eyes widened in fear as Silver held close to him to prevent himself from being pulled into the mirror. "W-What is going on…?"

The force was getting stronger by the minute and before they knew it, the older triplets were off the ground, the mirror's gravitational force pulling them in.

Sonic and Trails were starting to get pulled too so the wolf grabbed on to the ground with his free hand as he gripped tighter to the azure hedgehog. Shadow held out a hand and Sonic tried to grab it but the force was too strong and soon, the older siblings were getting sucked in.

"Sonic!" Shadow and Silver screamed as they disappeared.

"Silver! Shadow!" Sonic's eyes widened to see his brothers get taken in by the mirror so he let go of Trails in and dove in.

"SONIC!" Trails tried to stop the youngest prince as Sonic tried to enter while his glasses fell off but it was too late. "No…"

All was silent after that, only the forcing wind of the mirror heard as Trails narrowed his yellow-and-midnight blue eyes at it.

Suddenly, there was a crack. Trails gasped as more cracks came and they got bigger and bigger…

X

Meanwhile, in Möbius, Sonic, Silver and Shadow were at Freedom Fighter's HQ with Miles Tails Prower, a yellow, two-tailed fox inventor and Sonic's little brother best friend, and Cyrus Lion, a member of the Freedom Fighters and Sonic's other friend, as they started up the machine to get Silver back to his timeline with the help of Nicole Holo-Lynx, another Freedom Fighters member.

"Alright," Sonic turned to Silver. "you ready to go?"

"Ready!" Silver did a thumbs up.

"Let's just get this over with so I can get the hell out of this fucking mission," Shadow groaned, folding his arms.

"Alright then!" Cyrus pressed a button and pulled down a switch, making the machine start with a whirling noise. "Let's do this!"

The whirling noise got louder and louder but as it did, something strange was starting to happen.

Electricity was starting to spark out of the machine. It kept on sparking until grey diamond swirls with pink aura surrounded the hedgehogs, separating them from the others as they were beginning to be pulled in towards a huge, swirling pink portal that had suddenly appeared.

"Woah!" Tails was backed up beside the lion. "Cyrus, is this suppose to happen?!"

"No, it isn't!" Cyrus was getting thrown off as he spoke. "I don't understand! We tested this machine to send Mephiles back to the future! I don't get why this is happening!"

"Tails! Cyrus!" Sonic tried to reach out for his friends as Shadow got a grip on Silver and Silver grabbed onto Sonic. "HEEELP!"

But it was too late. Soon, Shadow found his lower limbs swallowed by the portal.

"Faker, Weed-Head, get us out of this mess!" he roared out.

"We're trying, Shadow!" Silver tried his hardest to grip his feet to the floor. "The portal's… too… strong!"

Suddenly, his feet gave away and the hedgehogs screamed as they were all pulled into the portal.

"SHADOW! SILVER!" Tails and Cyrus shouted as their eyes widened in horror. "SONIC! NOOO!"

With that, the portal disappeared in a little explosion and the two were blasted towards the wall, knocking them out cold so quick and hard that they didn't notice the scream of three young hedgehog children who had just fallen into the building…

X

Meanwhile, in Cosium, the crack forming in the mirror finally got so big that it exploded, letting out three screaming hedgehogs that fell as the mirror shattered, making Trails crouch down with his hands on his head before he was taken back and fell on the ground…


	4. The Mess In Cosium

_**A/N Well, I can't promise if this will be a long chapter but enjoy it anyway! XD**_

_**X**_

"Hmm…" Silver groaned, opening his eyes as he started to get up and rub his head. "Where… am I?"

A groan came from behind him and he turned to acknowledge who was with him. "Shadow?"

"Ugh," Shadow hissed, rubbing his aching head too. "and by 'I', you mean 'we'?

"Ugh, my head…" Sonic grunted, soothing his head, which was throbbing painfully. "Nice going, Shadow,"

"How could THIS be my fault?!" Shadow argued.

"You're the one who—"

"Hey!" Silver noticed Trails from a distance, his yell catching the attention of the other hedgehog as he ran over to the wolf and helped him to sit up. "Kid, hey! Kid, speak to me!"

Trails coughed and coughed as Shadow ran to their side. Sonic followed, spotting Trails's glasses on the grass.

'Such an old pair of glasses.' he thought as he picked it up and ran to the others.

"Feeling any better?" Silver asked, placing a hand on the wolf's shoulder.

"Yeah," Trails coughed as he spoke. "I'm fine, thanks,"

Silver smiled as Sonic handed him the glasses he found. "Your glasses…"

"Oh," Trails gave a small smile as he got his glasses back and placed it on his face. "Thank… you…"

His eyes widened in horror the moment his vision got clear as his mouth dropped.

"Ah… you okay, kid?" Silver asked once he saw the shocked look on the wolf's face.

"Huh?!" Trails screamed to the top of his lungs. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The scream was so loud that it could have reached the ears of everyone in the entire kingdom!

The three hedgehogs were shocked at the scream before placing their hands on their ears to not be deafened.

"Well," Silver sighed. "that was unpleasant,"

"What's the matter with him?" Sonic wondered.

"Beats me," the other two shrugged.

"Oh my god! Oh my god!" Trails was in a verge of panic as he was beginning to tear his fur off from his head. "I've really done it this time!"

But soon, his panic turned to excitement.

"Not in the way I expected, but it did!" His eyes lit up in enthusiasm as he spoke. "I can't believe it actually worked! I am a GENIUS!"

His ears, however, pinned back down in realization. "…a genius who's going to be DEADMEAT."

The hedgehogs watched the wolf sigh after talking to himself.

"…now," Silver bit his bottom lip nervously. "he's talking to himself,"

"I think he hit his head too hard then…" Sonic felt the awkwardness.

"Okay, okay," Trails let himself ease out. "calm down, Trails. Stay calm, hide them well and fix the machine ASAP,"

He sighed in relief at his plan and nodded at himself. "Good, that sounds like a plan. That'll do it,"

"Now, let's—OW!" he turned and accidentally hit someone, sending him down on the ground.

He groaned and rubbed his head before he looked up. His eyes widened to see the greatest and most powerful wizard of Cosium with a third eye on his forehead and Kaze's youngest brother; Darren Hedgehog.

Trails quickly stood up with fear and nervousness in his eyes and facial expression. "Lo-Lord Darren! I-I didn't see you!"

"What are you doing here, Trails?" Darren sternly asked.

"No-Nothing…"

"'Nothing'," Darren grabbed Trails's ear, causing the young wolf to howl in pain. "is a hint of one of your 'messes' AGAIN. When I report this to the king, you'll be—"

He turned and froze the moment he saw he three hedgehogs, his eyes widening in shock.

"Yo!" Sonic greeted with his usual cockiness.

"Ouch! Ouch!" Trails was trying to pry the hard hand from his ear as Darren was still in shock.

"Oh my god…" were the only words that the wizard could process at that moment, not knowing what else to say.

"Alright!" Shadow, as usual, went to his rage and defense mode, going on his battle stand as he lost his patience. "You'd better tell us where the heck are we! Or we'll have a fight to talk!"

Silver and Sonic followed, all their fists clenching as they all glared at the other hedgehog.

Darren was taken out of his shock and knew he couldn't fight them so he snapped his fingers, making vines sprout from the ground.

Shadow, Silver and Sonic's eyes widened in alarm as the vines grabbed them and wrapped them in their tight, spiky grip.

"This…" Darren wanted to speak to them but refused and turned to Trails after letting go of his ear. "Now, listen to me CAREFULLY! Give them a disguise and don't tell anyone, I repeat ANYONE, about this!"

"Y–Yes, sir!" Trails gulped.

Darren sighed before beginning to chant, placing one of his hands on top of Trails's head while the other started glowing green. "Chaos…"

'He knows the "Chaos Control"?' Shadow's ruby eyes widened as the wizard finished his words.

"…CONTROL!"

With that, Trails and the hedgehogs disappeared in a puff of green smoke.

"Whew!" Darren sighed in relief. "That should take care of it. But there's something… weird about trip—"

Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming nearby, making him turn around in alarm. 'Shoot!'

"Your majesties," he bowed low at the King and Queen.

"I thought we've been through the 'Your majesty' title thing," Kaze groaned, annoyed.

"Well," Darren chuckled. "sorry for I couldn't help myself, big brother. Anyway, what brings you here?"

"Darren, have you seen the boys?"

"No, why?"

"Oh, nothing!" Kaze looked as if he was about to explode in rage as he tried to keep his anger. "Just something that has to do with the slime explosion at their tutor's office,"

Darren gave another chuckle. "Of course,"

"Kaze, joking aside." Sapphire sternly spoke to her husband before turning her worried attention to the wizard. "Darren, we just let the boys run into this garden to play and then suddenly, I heard an explosion! Do you think they might be…"

"Sapphire," Darren stopped her from continuing. "I'm sure they're fine. I promise I will find them as soon as I can,"

But in his head, he was in panic while thinking, 'How can I explain to them that those three are—'

Suddenly, a huge thud came, startling the three royals but when they calmed down, they knew who caused the trouble.

"Trails." they said in unison, with Darren face-palming at the noise from his Chaos Control.

"Maybe you could go check the playground," the wizard suggested. "They might still be playing there,"

"Will do, thanks!" Kaze replied before he and Sapphire turned and walked off, leaving his little brother alone in the garden.

'I'm sorry, brother.' he sighed once he was alone. 'but I'm afraid that you and Sapphire would find this hard to accept…'

He then turned to the opposite direction. 'Better go check on Trails.'

"Chaos—"


	5. The Memorial Situation

_**A/N Okay, I'm sorry if I update quick. I'm just LOVING this sooo much! XD**_

_**X**_

Meanwhile, in Möbius, in New Mobotropolis, everything was quiet in the Hedgehog Residence as Jules was reading the newspaper and Bernadette was washing the dishes.

"I wonder what Sonic is doing right now…" Bernadette sighed.

"Bernie," Jules looked up from his newspaper. "Sonic is just going to send Silver back to his world,"

"Yes, well," Bernadette shrugged as she dried the dishes. "good for Silver but with Shadow too? Neo walkers know what those two are capable of,"

Jules placed his newspaper down and went over to his wife. "Bern, I don't believe they'll harm our son,"

"You don't think so?!" Bernadette turned to him. "Remember the times they nearly cost Sonic his life?!"

"And Sonic forgave them in the end," Jules concluded. "Even if they are not his friends, they are presently not his enemies,"

"… I suppose you're right," Bernadette sighed, turning away to put away the dish she was washing and drying. "But they will have to get through me if they ever try to hurt MY baby boy again,"

As she spoke, Jules noticed someone at the doorway and turned to see his brother Charles Hedgehog with Nicole.

"Charles? Nicole?" he sounded concern as they entered with worried expressions. "What's going on?"

"Cyrus wants me to take all of you to Freedom Fighters HQ." Nicole replied.

"What's happening?" Jules advanced towards the holo-lynx.

"There's… a little complication." Nicole answered. "You will see when you get there."

"Is it Sonic?!" Bernadette rushed to front. "Is he alright?!"

Nicole was taken back but calmly told her, "Mrs. Hedgehog, all will be explained when I take you to the headquarters."

"Oh, and Sir Charles?" she turned to the elderly hedgehog.

"Yes?" Charles stepped forward.

"Cyrus also asked for you to bring a plate of chili dogs…"

X

Meanwhile, at Freedom Fighters HQ, Tails stomped back to the room where the machine was located as Cyrus sat on his knees and looked under the desk.

"Shh…" he tried to soothe the children. "come out now, boys,"

He turned to the young fox and asked, "Have you contacted Rouge and Omega yet?"

"They said that they'll come in a few days," Tails replied. "An important from G.U.N came up. Are the others coming?"

"Yes, and I just sent Nicole to get the Hedgehog family,"

"And have they come out yet?"

"No, not yet," Cyrus turned to the three young hedgehog triplets, with Shadow in front protecting the other two while Silver held Sonic in a tight embrace as the azure one began to cry. "They're still scared,"

He leaned his head down and gave the triplets a smile. "Sonic, don't you remember me? It's me, Cyrus. Shadow? Silver?"

"We… We don't know you!" Shadow hissed. "Who are you people?! And how do you know our names?!"

"We just want to go home!" Sonic whimpered and kept weeping and weeping as his older albino brother kept him close. "Where are we?!"

Cyrus and Tails were surprised to hear that from the azure one as they fell silent and speechless.

"This is weird," Tails whispered to the lion. "I don't think that's the Sonic we both know. He NEVER whimpers. Not even when we were kids! And look at their shoes. I've never seen those kinds before,"

"Can it be…?" Cyrus gave it a thought. "They're from another Zone?"

He turned towards the triplets and gently spoke. "It's okay. We're not going to hurt you,"

"How do we know you're not lying?" Shadow growled accusingly.

"How do you want us to prove it?"

Shadow's ears pinned. "…we just want to go home to our Mama and Papa,"

"Well," Cyrus grinned. "until we can find your parents, why don't you come out from under there? We've got chili dogs!"

Sonic looked up, his tearful eyes showing as he asked, "What's 'chili dogs'?"

"Cyrus," the lion and the fox turned to see Nicole with Bernadette with her arm around the arm of Jules and with Charles holding a plate of chili dogs. "the Hedgehog family have arrived,"

"Thanks, Nicole…" Cyrus came forward but the moment he did, Bernadette bombarded him questions and yells.

"Is it Sonic?!" she began, her ocean blue eyes flaming in rage. "Is he alright?! I KNEW I shouldn't have let him go traipsing off with those two good-for-nothings! Now, it's PERSONAL! And don't you try to stop me, Jules! He's hurt and I wasn't there to protect him!"

"It's best if you take a look for yourselves," Cyrus nervously replied, moving aside and motioning the two to come closer.

Bernadette and Jules obliged and their eyes widened to see the triplets, with Shadow and Silver still being protective while Sonic was holding them for dear life.

"Oh my…" Bernadette was utterly speechless at what she saw.

"Have you told the rest of the Freedom Fighters about this?" Charles asked as he placed the plate of chili dogs in front of the children.

"I just sent them a message to come," Cyrus answered. "They should be here any minute. I've tried to get them out but nothing works so I think your chili dogs just might be the encouragement they need,"

Sonic slowly pulled away from Silver and peeked his head out from underneath the table. He saw the plate and hesitantly reached out to get a chili dog. He placed it near him and took a bite, immediately getting immersed into the food as he licked his lips in anticipation.

"This tastes just like a hot bun back home!" he happily cried out.

"Woah, really?" Silver dove in beside his youngest brother. "Give me some! I'm starving!"

'Hot bun?' Bernadette and Jules wondered as they watched the two eat.

There was a tug at Bernadette's dress and she turned to see Shadow looking up at her.

"Don't you want any?" she asked.

Shadow shook his head. "Sonic and Silver are hungry. When they're done, I'll eat,"

Bernadette smiled. She stood up and patted his head.

"You are a very sweet boy," she complimented.

Shadow's face lit up with a bright smile. Bernadette was surprised the moment she saw the smile coming from Shadow's face but smiled back anyway. Her smile faltered, however, when she noticed the ebony one stood up and started looking around worriedly.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"Where's Mama and Papa?" Shadow questioned, his voice in obvious panic and fear. "Trails's mirror pulled us in and we… where are they?"

"… we don't know," Bernadette replied sadly.

"But if you let us," Jules joined in the conversation. "we'll take care of you until we find a way to get you home,"

Shadow's ears pinned. "Promise?"

"You have my word," Jules raised his left hand and placed his right hand on his chest.

Shadow was still uncertain. He held out his pinky and stared at the robian with the same eyes. Jules blinked at him before smiling, intertwining his pinky around the child's, sealing his pinkie promise.

"I guess you'll stay with us then," Charles picked up Shadow. "I'm Charles but you can call me Uncle Chuck. And those two are my brother and his wife, Bernadette and Jules,"

Silver levitated himself to Charles's height and sheepishly waved at the others. Sonic was being hyperactive as usual, jumping and running around with a huge smile on his face.

As he did, however, something around his neck caught Jules's eye.

In a flash, the memory of the rainy night that he found Sonic as a crying baby came to his mind, the necklace around his neck resembling the one that THIS Sonic had. At once, he felt uncomfortable as Bernadette picked up the azure one.

"B-Bernie," he faked out a smile as he walked out. "why don't you and Chuck stay here for a bit while I go back home and get the room ready for our little guests?"

"Sure, honey…" Bernadette simply replied as she was distracted with tickling Sonic, who giggled loudly and adorably.

The moment he left, three other Freedom Fighter members entered the room; Sally Acorn, the chipmunk princess of the Acorn kingdom, Bunnie Rabbot-D'Coolette, a rabbit fighter that was part robot, and her husband, Antoine D'Coolette, a coyote fighter that was a royal guard of the Acorn Kingdom.

"Alright, Cyrus," Sally came forward. "we're here. Now, what's the situation?"

"We 'ave received a 'Code Blue' from Nicole," Antoine sighed, annoyed. "So, what 'as Sonic done zis time?"

"Actually," Cyrus cackled nervously. "it's more than just Sonic,"

"Huh?" Bunnie tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

One look at the young hedgehogs and the three were in shock.

"What is zis?!" Antoine pointed at the azure pup. "Is ZAT Sonic?!"

"We just saw them head over here less than hour ago!" Sally scratched her head, confused.

"And now they're… little ankle biters?" Bunnie was just as confused.

"Again, HOW DO THEY KNOW OUR NAMES?!" Shadow cried out, freaked out by the fact of how the three knew them while they didn't know anything about the three.

Cyrus and Tails sighed in defeat, their ears pining. 'This is gonna be a long day…'

X

Meanwhile, back at the Hedgehog Residence, Jules was sitting on the bed, pondering with his eyes closed as he clutched something in his robotic palms. Slowly, he opened his eyes and palms them out came the necklace he found the night they adopted Sonic after finding him.

'It can't be…' he worriedly thought as the memory came back to him.

_{FLASHBACK}_

_It was stormy night and a full-on mobian Jules was running through the woods, trying to find the baby that he heard crying. Finally, he opened up a bush and spotted a crying Sonic wrapped in a blanket, the necklace dangling around his neck along with the pendant, ring and gem._

_"Huh?" he gently picked up Sonic into his arms. "A baby?"_

_{END OF FLASHBACK}_

Jules balled his fist again and placed it on his head, feeling guilty for not telling Sonic something he should have told him years ago…


	6. Lies And Disguises

**_A/N Well, this feels like the comic, doesn't it? Well, things will be different. Trust me, it will. Just need to think of a good ending that won't be crappy…_**

**_X_**

Meanwhile, in Cosium…

"—CONTROL!"

"Lord Darren!" Trails cried out with pure relief the moment he saw the wizard arrive as the three hedgehogs struggled with the vines behind them, with Sonic accidentally placing his foot on Silver's head.

"Trails, I need a full explanation." Darren demanded. "NOW!"

"Um… it's really a 'funny story', you see," Trails nervously replied. "But I have one question…"

"Think you might be a bit overdoing the Vine-End Spell on them? After all, they are…"

"WHAT?!" Darren was losing his patience.

Despite his struggle, Sonic spotted Darren and grinned mischievously.

"Yo, Shadow!" he called out to the ebony hedgehog, who got annoyed at the azure one. "Who's your cousin? He looks just like you! Double Fakers! Ha-ha-ha!"

"Sonic," Silver sighed. "I don't think this is the right time to talk about this…"

'Ugh,' Darren and Trails had the same thought. 'no doubt they are still the same.'

"Trails," Darren rubbed his head out of stress. "please, PLEASE! Tell me they are just temperate memory lost,"

"Actually," Trails folded his ears. "the contraption I built may not… be… well… the cause of their case. There might be a possibility… they are…"

"Come again?" Darren rubbed the side of his head. "Speak up, son. I barely heard the last sentence,"

"They are…" Trails nervously stated. "um… from a different time of another dimension?"

Darren was in range. He growled, making Trails freeze in fear before turning and walking away.

'I'm doomed…' the wolf gulped.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" the wizard roared, letting out all of his rage as the wolf and the hedgehogs pinned their ears to prevent themselves from being deafened.

"He's mad." the three pointed out.

"I don't need you three to know that!" Trails hissed.

Suddenly, he was grabbed by the wizard, who eyes began to glow fierce green as his third eye let out a string of green aura.

"GiVe Me OnE gOoD rEaSoN i ShOuLdN't GiVe YoU a NiGhTmArE oF a LiFeTiMe?!" Darren angrily threatened.

'No! Not the eye!' Trails was in panic as he froze in fright. "B-But aside to th-that, think w-we s-should t-take care o-of the c-current s-situation f-f-first…?"

Darren sighed and turned to the three hedgehogs. "Well, for once, you're right on this mess,"

He stepped forward and looked at Shadow straight in the eye. The ebony one merely glared back.

"Now," he said. "I'm going to ask you one simple question… Do you know who I am?"

"No." Shadow replied.

"Very well," Darren snapped his fingers, making the vines immediately pull away from the three hedgehogs. "Pardon me, I just have to make sure you mean no harm,"

"And I thought you were trying to strangle us to death!" Sonic, as usual, was optimistic despite what had just happened. "But we're cool now!"

"You're letting us go?!" Shadow felt suspicious. "Just like that?!"

"Let's just say," Darren shrugged. "I have a special 'gift' by reading your hearts,"

"Lord Darren!" Trails shouted the moment he heard footsteps. "The King and Queen are coming!"

"What?!" Darren was caught off guard. 'Dang it! I need to think of something quick this time!'

"Trails," he ordered. "take them to your room and give them clothes to put on!"

"Yes, Sir!" Trails pushed the three off.

"Wait, CLOTHES?!" the hedgehogs were shocked but couldn't oppose as they were forced into a room.

Darren groaned, placing his hand on his head. 'This day has just gotten even better…'

X

Meanwhile, Kaze and Sapphire were heading down the stairs to Darren's workshop.

"Remind me to reduce these stairs into slides," Kaze chuckled as he helped his wife down the last step.

"I'm sure the boys will never say 'no' to it!" Sapphire giggled.

The two stared at each other until a thought came to Sapphire.

"Honey," she began. "what if…"

"Don't even think that!" Kaze interrupted her out of the fearful thought.

"Kaze…" she was pulled into an embrace the moment her tears started to appear, her hands on her husband's chest fur while the other had his hands around her.

"Whatever happens to my family," Kaze told her, slowly pulling his wife closer. "I will do anything to protect them. Whoever harms them, I will hunt it down with my life…"

"Well, I'm not showing up at a good time,"

The two rulers flushed in embarrassment as they pulled away from each other and turned to see a smirk from the hedgehog wizard.

"This better be good, Darren…" Kaze let out a pissed grin.

"Don't worry," Darren chuckled. "It won't take you long,"

"Have you found the boys?!" Sapphire rushed forward towards the wizard. "Please, please, tell you've found them!"

'They're going to kill me for this…' Darren thought before unleashing a vast of green magic towards the rulers, using an Alter Memory-Magic Spell to alter their minds as a swirl of green magic entered their eyes.

"Oh yes!" Kaze face-palmed with a nervous laugh. "Now I remember! King Posiden and Queen Marissa took the boys to Atlantis for a few days to stay!"

"Mother and Father love to play around with their grandsons like loving grandparents!" Sapphire happily added.

"Yes, THAT'S where the boys are!" Darren grinned at the false information. 'It's official. I will die in the hands of Sapphire pretty soon…'

"So," Kaze was confused again. "we're here for…?"

"To see my new hired assistants," Darren answered before walking off with the two following behind him.

"Oh, yes!" Kaze smirked. "You know, it surprises me that YOU need more assistants. Having trouble with Trails lately?"

"Even a great powerful wizard will need assistance," Darren just replied as he opened the door to his workshop. "Alright, may I introduce—"

ZOOM! A flash of blue blur sped up to the ceiling.

"Huh?!" the rulers were surprised.

"What in the…?" Darren was shocked as they looked up to see…

"Hey, look!" Sonic was upside down on the ceiling as he playfully jumped. "No hands!"

"Your highness!" Trails came towards them. "Lord Darren!"

"WHAT in the name of Cosium's name happened here?!" Darren growled, his eye twitching in irritation. "What's happening?"

Sapphire found an empty red bottle and picked it up. "An Anti-Gravity syrup?"

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me…" Darren groaned, gritting his teeth.

"He thought it was just a plain syrup," Trails explained. "And it was too late when I tried to stop him…"

"Oh, we have to get the poor thing down here," Sapphire worriedly said as Sonic cheered and played around. "He will get hurt!"

'Not that I mind at all…' Darren thought as he folded his arms.

"I got this one," Kaze ran up. "Darren, go get the antidote ready,"

"Got it!" Darren nodded.

He went over to the wolf and whispered, "Trails, where are the other two?"

"They're still changing," Trails answered. "There were no masks left so I have to use yours,"

"YOU WHAT?!"

Meanwhile, Sonic stretched as he suddenly felt bored.

"Man, it's chilly." he complained. 'Why did I do this to myself? This is way pass BOOORRRING!'

Suddenly, he felt a thump from the opposite side of where he was standing. "Huh?"

He looked up and gasped to see Kaze…who got up there in less than five seconds flat!

"When?!" he was bewildered. "How?!"

"Really?" Kaze chuckled as he was sitting down and leaning to look over at Sonic. "Is that what you're concern about? You're one funny fellow, boy,"

"Hey, Kaze!" Darren threw a flask of black substance up at his older brother, "Catch!"

Kaze caught it with ease as he took off his crown. He went upside down and sat next to Sonic on the ceiling, letting his quills dangle from above.

"Here, drink it," he told him.

Sonic narrowed his eyes at Kaze as he drank the antidote. 'Don't know why but for some reason I can trust this guy…'

Suddenly, he gagged at the taste of the antidote before the syrup's effect gave away. His view changed before he screamed as he began to fall.

Sapphire was shocked, placing her hands on her mouth as Darren rushed and tried to grow another vine to catch the azure one.

Luckily, Sonic was caught by a pair of strong hands, making him blink in surprise. "…Huh?"

He looked up and began to playfully kiss his savior.

"My hero!" he cried out happily.

"Ugh," Shadow growled. "Don't make me kill you. Seriously, you can't stay still for one solid minute?"

"Come on," Sonic grinned. "Loosen up, Shadz! And maybe one day, you can be as fun as me!"

With that, the ebony one snapped and gave the azure hedgehog a good beat up before dropping him as Silver came out with his quills down.

"In your dreams, Faker." Shadow growled, walking away.

He walked past Darren, whose eyes widened in shock the moment he saw that the ebony life-form was wearing the mask that his late lover gave him years ago.

He sighed as the memory came back to him. 'Eliza…'

Meanwhile, Silver was exiting the room, feeling uncomfortable with his new quill-do. 'Don't know why the kid has to make my quills down like a weird—'

Suddenly, he tripped on a rock and fell forward.

"Woah!" he cried out as his head hit Sapphire, who jumped in surprise before turning. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!"

"Oh, dear!" Sapphire stepped forward to help. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" Silver tried to pry his hat from his eyes. "I'm fine! Thank…"

"…you?" The moment he finally got the hat out of his vision, his eyes widened and he gasped as he saw Sapphire for the first time.

"Are you alright?" Sapphire asked.

"Woah…" Silver was speechless. 'It's weird, I've never met her before… and yet, somehow there's some kind of connection between us…'

"You look awfully familiar," Sapphire looked over at him. "Have we met before?"

"I-I'm not su—Gah!" Silver cried out as Darren grabbed him and pulled him aside.

"Come here," the wizard whispered.

'But…' Silver looked back at Sapphire, wanting to know more about her.

"Let's get out of there," Darren scowled before dragging the albino one away.

'It's impossible!' Silver was close to tears as he watched himself part from the merhog queen. 'It's almost as if—'

Meanwhile, Sonic groaned as he rubbed his head.

"Ugh," he hissed. "can't that guy take a joke?"

He looked up. "And thanks for the help up there—"

But Kaze was gone! Sonic was beyond confused.

"Where did he go?" he asked, not noticing the king appear beside him while holding his crown.

"And next time," Kaze spoke up, making Sonic jump. "try to stick to the ground. Okay, boy?"

"How…?" Sonic was shocked as hell but before he could finish his sentence, Trails placed the red handkerchief, that was around his neck, on his mouth then dragged him to the side.

"Well," Darren came in between the conversation. "now that we've finished this small drama…"

He briefly turned to Trails and growled under his breath. "You are SO grounded."

'Oh man.' Trails thought as he dragged Sonic to the others.

"So," Darren continued after turning back to the king and Queen of Cosium. "as I was saying, these are my new assistants—"

Then, a realization hit him. 'Dang it! I can't introduce them with their real names!'

Trails noticed Darren struggling so he turned to hedgehogs.

"You guys have to come up with new names!" he told them.

"What?! Why?!" Sonic was confused as he turned to the others. "Why can't we use our own names?!"

"Just DO it!" Trails growled, grabbing the azure hedgehog by the handkerchief as his eyes glowed fiercely.

'What's up with this little guy?!' Sonic gulped.

A cough interrupted them and they turned to see Shadow beginning to speak.

"Um…" he said. "the name is… Terios. Terios Hedgehog,"

"…V-Venice," Silver came after. "Venice Hedgehog,"

'Urgh, I can't believe I'm using this name…' Sonic groaned and gulped before speaking. "I'm… Maurice Hedgehog,"

Shadow and Silver stifled their laughter from behind the azure hedgehog as the hedgehog wizard and the wolf sighed in relief.

"They were highly recommended," Darren finished. "It's not easy to organize all the books and scrolls in the castle,"

'Why did I use that name?!' Sonic was gagging behind Silver and Shadow in disgust.

"Of course," Kaze smirked and chuckled. "but tell me, what happened to the last ones you hired?"

"Let's just say they have done a horrible job," Darren cringed. "As for the rest, you don't want to know,"

"Mm-hmm…" Kaze grinned before turning to the three. "Well, on behalf of Cosium, I welcome you to the castle,"

"Although," Sapphire looked over at Shadow suspiciously, alarming Darren. "you all look familiar… are you sure we've never met before?"

"Um…" Darren laughed, shoving the rulers out. "I'm sure you must've seen them somewhere else. Now, if you'll excuse me, we have work to do,"

"Oh good," Kaze smiled. "and right after that, you could give them a tour around here,"

"Yes, yes, whatever," Darren merely waved his brother off. "Well, have a nice day!"

Then he shoved the door as loud as he could behind them.

"What in the name of COSMOS is wrong with him?" Kaze was confused by his brother's behavior.

"Well, you know Darren," Sapphire gave him a soft smile. "He can get a little stressed out sometimes. Be glad that he decided to get himself some companions since… you know,"

Kaze sighed. "Eliza…"

"At least I can see those three are already keeping him busy," Sapphire giggled.

"I guess you're right," Kaze joined her laughter. "Want to see if Mother and Benonic have arrived? They should be home soon,"

Sapphire smiled as they walked off, her arm around his. "You know I'm more than happy to do anything as long as it's with you,"

X

Meanwhile, back inside the workshop, Darren had his back against the door as he was calming himself from his panic with a tired groan.

"Boy," Trails commented. "that was a close one,"

"YOU THINK?!" the four hedgehogs yelled in unison before giving the wolf a big smack on the head.

Trails whimpered, holding his aching head. "Well, now that that problem is solved…"

"Dude," Sonic teased the ebony hedgehog. "what's with the mask?"

"Shut up!" Shadow snapped before Silver came in between them.

"Not the right time," he scolded them. "Not the right place either,"

"Not solved at all, my boy," Darren sighed. "My Alter-Memory Magic can only hold them for who-knows-how-long, depending on their wills and not to mention those around them.

"You mean…" Trails asked. "Grandmother Athena?"

"Oh no," Darren shook his head. "Mother is not really a problem. She's just coming back from visiting another kingdom, remember? No, I'm talking about someone more perceptive,"

"You mean…" Trails gasped. "HIM?"

"Who else?"

"But wasn't he with Grandmother Athena as well?"

"Yes," Darren groaned. "but you know him… he may have been away from Cosium but that doesn't mean he's not sensitive to his surroundings. He will notice the little ones missing very soon. In other words, he will ask one of us before long,"

This caught the attention of the other three, stopping Shadow from attacking Sonic and stopping Silver from pulling Shadow away from Sonic as Trails gulped with wide eyes.

"My eldest brother… Benonic Hedgehog."


	7. Late Night Talk

_**A/N Man, I've changed so much here from the OG Comic. More spoilers on what I changed? Nah, don't think so. XP**_

_**X**_

Meanwhile, in Möbius, New Mobotropolis, in the Hedgehog Household, it was late night so Bernadette, Jules and Charles were trying to get the boys to sleep in Sonic's old room and bed.

"Okay, you three are clean and dry," Bernadette spoke as she smiled and held a jittery Sonic in her hands. "It's time for bed,"

"Not tired!" Sonic giggled out loud.

"Yeah, I'm not tired either!" Silver agreed as he levitated from the bed while Shadow explored the race car-like bed.

"Well," Bernadette grinned. "if you settle down, I'll tell you a story,"

Immediately, Silver and Shadow came to her front, their eyes filled with wonder. "Ooooh! What kind of story?!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Sonic jumped. "What kind of story will you tell, Mistress Bernadette?!"

"Well," Bernadette began. "it's a really good one about a hero who liked to run…"

A few minutes later, the story was placing the triplets into a sleepy trance. They stopped jumping and were now snuggled in the blanket, their eyes droopy as they began to drop.

"… then the victims were all turned back to flesh-and-blood. The evil overlord was dethroned from the kingdom and the hero was now living a happy life with his family and friends. The End." Bernadette finished, patting Shadow's head affectionately.

The ebony child yawned. "It was really good…"

"Yeah," Silver nodded. "until that princess showed up. She was a traitor…"

Sonic was getting hazy as he felt sleepy, yawning and stretching before cuddling up to his brothers.

"Alright, lights out," Bernadette giggled, giving the three goodnight kisses. "I don't want to hear anymore talking. You need your sleep,"

"You sound like Mama," Sonic hazily commented.

"It's a mother-thing," she turned off the lights and began to head out of the room. "Goodnight, darlings,"

The door was closed and the two older triplets were fast asleep in seconds. Sonic, however, couldn't sleep despite him being so tired and kept tossing and turning until he startled his brothers.

"What's wrong, Nic?" Shadow went over to his little brother. "Can't sleep?"

"No, I can't," Sonic held onto his big brother, close to tears. "I miss Mama and Papa too much!"

"No, don't cry," Silver went over to them and hugged his little brother.

Shadow watched the younger siblings, with Sonic crying on Silver's shoulder, before a thought came to him.

"Sonic?" he went closer and wiped the azure one's tears.

"Hmm?" Sonic looked up with tearful, puffy eyes.

"I'll sing Mama's Lullaby," Shadow replied, pulling the youngest closer. "Will you like that?"

"We don't always need the lullaby to get to sleep," Silver whined, folding his arms.

Sonic turned to him and let out huge, puppy eyes. The albino tried to resist it but sighed in defeat before pulling his little brother close again.

"Alright, fine," Silver turned to Shadow. "Sing Mama's Lullaby,"

Shadow sneered before beginning to sing.

From outside, Jules was passing the children's room door when he heard a sweet voice from inside, catching his attention. He slowly opened the door to see Shadow singing to his brothers. Silver was fast asleep with Sonic in his arms as the azure one fell asleep as well.

As soon as he saw this, Jules closed the door back but stayed put as Shadow kissed his brothers' foreheads.

"Goodnight, little brothers," he whispered before jumping off the bed and taking his leave.

He was surprised, however, when he saw the robian in front of the bedroom door as he closed it.

"Oh…" Shadow looked up at the other. "Hello, Master Hedgehog,"

"Please, 'Jules' is fine," Jules knelt down to the 5-year old's eye level. "And where do you think you're going?"

"I-I'm not feeling sleepy," Shadow sheepishly replied.

"…you want to talk with me?" Jules offered a hand. "I could give you a glass of warm milk. It might help,"

Shadow's face lit up with a smile before accepting. "Thank you, Master Jules!"

Jules smiled then he picked up the child and carried him downstairs to the kitchen. He set him down on the counter and grabbed some milk from the refrigerator then he placed it inside a mug and placed it in the microwave.

After 30 seconds, there was a DING! and Jules opened the microwave door then he grabbed the mug and gave it to Shadow, who happily took it before drinking the milk.

"That was beautiful singing up there," Jules commented, catching the ebony child off guard as he nearly spat out his drink.

"Oh!" Shadow blushed, placing down the mug. "You… You heard?"

Jules chuckled. "Don't be shy. There's nothing to be embarrassed about,"

"Sonic can't sleep without Mama's Lullaby," Shadow explained. "Silver tries to resist but he can't always sleep without it either. Sometimes, the three of us sing together with Mama at night,"

"She must be a wonderful singer,"

Shadow sighed, his ears folding as he looked down. "…the best,"

He looked over at Jules and his eyes caught something that made him curious.

"Master Jules," he began. "are you a knight?"

"No," Jules replied. "Why?"

"Because," Shadow reached out for the other's metal arm. "your suit is made of metal,"

"No," Jules shook his head. "my body IS made of metal,"

"But why you don't have fur? And your voice sounds really funny,"

"I was normal… ONCE," Jules sighed, his robotic palms shaking in guilt. "This form keeps me from dying…"

He clenched his fists, trembling even more. "But I wish I could have my own body back more than anything. I want so badly to feel things again…"

Suddenly, Shadow placed his little hand on the other's metal fist. This action melted the Jules's heart as his digital red eyes met the ebony one's pitiful gaze.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you, Master Jules," he spoke with the softest and gentlest voice Jules had ever heard.

'Wow.' Jules thought as he felt guilty for affecting the young one of his situation. 'I never thought that I would ever hear a voice like that from Shadow, out of all mobians…'

He shook himself from his thoughts and got the mug.

"Here, drink up," he handed over the mug. "You need to finish this then you need your rest,"

"Okay, Master Jules," Shadow took his glass and finished up his milk.

Later on, Jules carried the child back upstairs as Shadow began to feel sleepy. He entered the bedroom and gently placed the young hedgehog next to the others.

"Goodnight, Master Jules," Shadow yawned before cuddling up to Silver and Sonic and falling asleep.

Jules smiled and left the room, gently closing the door.

"Goodnight, boys…"


	8. Rough Times

_**A/N Well, as you can tell, I'm doing Cosium then Möbius then again and again but this time, I'm gonna focus more on Cosium because this story is more into the Cosium side of everything. But I will still do Möbius scenes but not very often cause I have a plan at hand. Enjoy the chapter!**_

_**X**_

Meanwhile, in Cosium, Darren and Trails were taking the three hedgehogs on the tour they had to give them, thanks to Kaze. They've been greeted by most of the royal staff and the three weren't able to say anything but their 'FAKE' names.

Finally, they were alone at an empty hallway so they decided to bring the subject up again.

"Okay," Sonic spoke up. "NOW are you going to explain what's going on?"

"Wait," Silver grabbed his arm and pulled him aside. "don't you remember what happened last time someone asked him that?"

"Yeah but," Sonic argued. "to be fair, Shadow did threaten to beat him up,"

Shadow growled at them, making them gulp in fear. Darren felt no intimidation and merely looked back.

"I will do it again," he sternly told them. "MILDLY, if you keep on annoying me."

"You three don't know me or the King and Queen," he continued, pointing at them accusingly. "Therefore, I can assume you're not who I thought you were,"

"Why should we know them?" Shadow folded his arms. "Who are they?"

Darren blinked at him then sighed and motioned them to a hallway.

"This is a portrait of the royal family that was made last month," he pointed over to a painting and the three gasped in bewilderment.

It was a wonderful painting of King Kaze and Queen Sapphire, along with three young, familiar-looking hedgehogs who looked like they were at the age of five. One of them looked like Shadow as he was wearing a necklace with a ring through it and he was standing on a chair with Kaze's hand on his shoulder. The second one looked like Silver and was high up on the air at their parents' height level, inside an aura of blue as he wore a necklace around his neck with an emerald gem on it. The last one, who they assumed was the youngest, looked like Sonic and was in Sapphire's arms as a necklace with a seashell pendant was around his neck.

The three were speechless, with Shadow's face filled with horror, Sonic's face filled with shock and Silver's face filled with surprise.

Suddenly, Sonic burst out laughing and began to roll around, annoying Shadow more as he burst into rage while Silver stepped forward towards the painting.

"Oh man!" the azure one was crying in laughter. "That's got to be the cutest picture of you ever, Shadow!"

"SHUT UP!" Shadow snarled.

"I want copies!"

"If I was really related to you, I'd kill myself just to avoid the indignity of sharing your genes!"

Meanwhile, Silver blocked them out and had his hand reached out at the painting, his eyes on both Kaze and Sapphire.

'I wish…' he thought. 'this was my family…'

"So they're not brothers?" Trails asked, confused.

"It appears that way," Darren came forward, much to Trails's surprise, and swiped Silver's arm away, making the albino one yelp in shock as his arm was aching as soon as it was released.

"Humph!" Silver rubbed his aching arm as the other two stopped arguing and turned to the hedgehog wizard.

"Cut to the chase!" Shadow scowled. "We're all alone now. Mind if you tell us where the hell we are?!"

Sonic merely nodded in agreement, placing his hands on his hips as they all glared at Darren.

"The most important question is not necessarily where," the hedgehog wizard spoke with his back towards them then he turned his head at them to finish. "but WHEN, you man,"

"WHAT?!"

X

A realization later, the group were all in Darren's other workshop, where most of his books and spells were kept as Trails went on to a pile of books happily.

"So wait, wait, wait, wait, wait," Sonic was right behind Darren as they entered the place. "you're telling us that this place is 'Cosium' and it's not just a different zone, but a different time from ours altogether?"

"He he," Trails nervously grinned as he read. "More or less,"

"Ugh!" Silver placed his hands on his head, ready to tear off his quills from under his hat. "Time Travel and Zone-Hopping… AGAIN! I must be cursed!"

'Well, isn't that sad.' Shadow chuckled, folding his arms.

"Until we can figure out how this happened and find a way to fix it, I'd like nothing better than for all of you to stay out of sight and pretend you don't exist," Darren said with a sigh, picking up some paper from his desk. "Unfortunately, since Kaze and Sapphire have seen you, that's no longer an option,"

"Trails," he turned to the young wolf. "go get the spare wands,"

"Yes, Lord Darren." Trails ran off and came back with a midnight blue chest in his hands.

Darren opened it and took out three wands; one was red, one was black with blue, and one looked like it was made out of crystal.

"Since you're my 'assistants'," he told them as he handed each of them a wand. "it would be very suspicious if you didn't at least appear to have some experience with magic. You can't use them but no one knows that,"

Sonic was happy to have the Black-and-blue wand in his hands while Silver admired the crystal wand.

"Now put it away before you like your eye out." Darren groaned after seeing their reactions. "You may address me as 'Lord Darren' for the time being,"

"Seriously?" Shadow wasn't amused as he treated the red wand like it was nothing.

"In our world," Darren explained. "a wand can help stabilize magic until it can be fully controlled,"

Suddenly, his third eye began to glow green. "I made these for my nephews so lose them and YOU DIE."

Shadow, however, wasn't intimidated by the wizard. Instead, he took off his mask and handed it over with the wand.

"I have Chaos Powers which I can control very well, thank you," he hissed. "I'm not going to pretend to be something or SOMEONE I'm not."

"I'm not asking to do this for you or myself." Darren tried to reason with the ebony one. "I'm asking for the sake of MY King and Queen. Finding out their children are missing is bad enough but to find you three in their place would be… A NIGHTMARE,"

"They're not MY parents," Shadow growled, folding his arms and glaring at the wizard. "So why should I care?"

'Dear Cosmos… what happened to you, little one?' Darren was shocked by the immortal life-form's selfish response before he sighed. "Please."

Shadow stared at the wizard bluntly before groaning, placing the mask back on his face. "…fine."

"I appreciate your willingness to humor me," Darren let out a calm and relieved smile. "Any other questions?"

"Uh, yeah," Sonic spoke up as he balanced his wand on his finger. "is there a way for us to get home?"

"I'm going to assume Trails knows," Darren answered, surprising the young wolf. "Otherwise I'm afraid your trapped here. I doubt there's an easy way to transport all of you back. And certainly not with a clear location at mind,"

"Uh, yeah. I'm sure I could do it," Trails nervously replied. 'I hope the boys are okay thought…'

"I DIDN'T ASK TO BE HERE!" Shadow roared, finally losing his temper and patience. "I HAVE FAR MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO OTHER THAN BEING TRAPPED IN THIS DEAD-END ZONE!"

"ALL I DID WAS AGREE TO SEND THIS WHITE RAT," Silver jumped at the rotten nickname. "BACK TO HIS POST, APOCALYPTIC—"

"Cool it, Shadow!" Sonic let out his positiveness, looking out on the bright side. "Things will work out! I guarantee it! I've been to a million zones—"

"Somehow," Shadow groaned, folding his arms. "I doubt that."

"—so," Sonic continued. "all we have to do is resolve a conflict or two and the universe will align to send us home. No big deal,"

Shadow stared at the other for a while before stomping over to him.

Silver saw that the ebony one looked calm but the green Chaos Energy forming in one of his hands said otherwise. "Shadow…?"

"GAH!" Sonic yelped and his eyes widened as the ebony life-form grabbed him by the handkerchief and lifted him up. "What the hell, Shadz?!"

"Don't call me that, Faker!" Shadow growled. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHY I HATE BEING IN THIS FUCKED-UP, DEAD-END ZONE?!"

"Because… you're getting sick of Zone-Hopping?" Sonic gulped after seeing the Chaos Spear form in the immortal's hand.

"Well," Shadow rolled his eyes at the albino hedgehog. "partly yes but that's more of Silver's problem,"

"Hey!" Silver growled. "You try Time Traveling and Zone-Hopping for most of your life! You'll get sick of it!"

"Whatever." Shadow turned back to the azure hedgehog. "Anyway, the OTHER reason why I hate being here is because I'm fucking stuck here WITH YOU TWO IDIOTS!"

He dropped the other on the ground and kicked him down before continuing, "YOU ARE A BIG FAKER AND A COCKY BLUE RAT WHO DOESN'T CARE ABOUT ANYONE BUT HIS OWN POPULARITY! I'M NOW SURPRISED HOW YOU'RE A HERO IN OUR WORLD WHEN ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS HOW PEOPLE SEE YOU! NO WONDER MOST OF YOUR FRIENDS ARE GOLD-DIGGERS THAT ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU BECAUSE OF YOUR POPULARITY, LIKE THAT PINK BITCH WHO KEEPS CHASING YOU AROUND LIKE AN IDIOTIC, OBSESSIVE YANDERE!"

With every hurtful word, Sonic's ears began to pin down to his skull as tears began to form at the sides of his eyes.

For once, he was affected. I mean, he was always sensitive to critics but usually, he wouldn't mind it and would try to change himself for it but the way Shadow said it was different. The ebony hedgehog said all of his flaws at once and he didn't how to change and/or what to change.

"Shadow!" Silver growled as he grabbed the ultimate life-form's shoulder and turned him around to face him. "Why would you say that?! Sonic is a great hero, unlike you, who cares about nothing but himself!"

"EXCUSE ME?!" Shadow pushed the other harshly. "I HAD TO FUCKING SAVE SONIC'S ASS MIRE THAN TWICE JUST TO HELP HIM SAVE THE FUCKING WORLD FROM THE DESTRUCTION THAT HE MOSTLY CAUSED! I SACRIFICED MYSELF TWICE JUST TO GET HIM TO SAFETY WITH HIS FRIENDS AND SO THAT EVERYONE ELSE WOULD HAVE A HERO TO LOOK UP TO! EVEN I HAVE HELPED YOU SEE THE TRUTH BEHIND THE LIES THAT MEPHILES TOLD YOU WHEN YOU WERE A FUCKING NAIVE ORPHAN HEDGEHOG, WHO DID NOTHING BUT ASSUME THE WORST IN SOMEONE, TIME-TRAVEL TO KILL THAT PERSON, FAIL THEN DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN!"

Silver's ears pinned as he began to tear up but his rage didn't leave as he tried to stay strong. "WELL, AT LEAST I'M NOT THE SO-CALLED ULTIMATE LIFE-FORM MADE TO CURE A YOUNG GIRL'S SICKNESS AND ONCE THAT GIRL WAS DEAD, YOU WERE AN ASSHOLE TO FALL FOR THE BAD GUY'S TRICKS AND WORK FOR HIM!"

"AT LEAST I HAD A PURPOSE WHEN I WAS MADE!" Shadow argued back. "BUT I NEVER CHOSE TO BE MADE, DIE, HAVE AMNESIA AND REBORN ALL OVER AGAIN!"

"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED DEAD! WE DIDN'T NEED YOU!"

"BUT IF I WAS DEAD, YOU WOULD HAVE KILLED SONIC!"

Silver was speechless, his eyes widening at the heart-aching fact as his mouth was shut.

By this time, Shadow was beginning to tear up in rage as he glared at the albino hedgehog.

"WELL?!" he yelled. "DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO SAY, WEED-HEAD?!"

"Y-Yes!" Silver wiped the tears flowing down his cheeks. "IF YOU HATE US SO BADLY THEN GET OUT OF OUR SIGHT!"

"FINE!" Shadow turned and walked to an open window. "I WILL! I WON'T FUCKING STAY HERE TO SUFFER! I CAN FIND MY OWN WAY BACK TO MÖBIUS WITHOUT ANY HELP FROM ANY OF YOU!"

"Wait—!" Darren tried to stop the immortal life-form but was too late as Shadow left through the window with ease.

"Where is he going?" Trails worriedly asked.

"It doesn't matter," Silver went over to Sonic, who had curled up into a ball to cry, and pulled him into a warm hug. "I don't know where's he going and I don't care. If he thinks HE can get back to Möbius all by himself then he can try,"

He then stroked the azure hedgehog's quills to calm him down. Sonic sniffled before hugging back, making the albino hedgehog sigh.

"As long as he's not tormenting us, it's fine by me,"


	9. Fears And Changes

_**A/N Alright, now the script is all on me. Good luck to me! Woo! Enjoy! XD**_

_**X**_

"Curse those idiots!" Shadow jumped from the last step and landed on the ground as he made his way to Darren's first workshop, where their temporary bedroom was. "Are they that dumb to think themselves as the good guy and me as the bad guy?! They're all being dipshits!"

He slammed the door shut as soon as he was inside the room he shared with the other hedgehog teens and the wolf.

Suddenly, he went berserk. His fur turned bright red before he floated and let out an explosion of Chaos Energy then he grabbed a handful of Chaos Spears and tossed them around in blind rage…

X

Meanwhile, back in Darren's Workshop of Books And Spells…

"No, no, no!" Silver shook his head as he glared at the hedgehog wizard and the wolf. "Neither of us are going to go to to Shadow to apologize!"

"Please be reasonable," Darren was getting desperate on the argument. "If Kaze, Sapphire or anyone else in the castle find out who he really is or who really isn't, this kingdom will go into complete chaos and my brother will be enraged that he will lose his sanity!"

And, in his head, a bad thought came to him. 'And if Kaze was to find out that these three are from Möbius, he'll kill them with NO hesitation! Hope he doesn't kill me, though…'

"Then let him deal with it!" Silver snapped but quickly changed the tone of his voice when he noticed Trails and Darren's shocked expressions. "Look, I'm sorry, Lord Darren, but we just can't. Shadow will KILL us the moment we enter the room and besides, we don't want to be always the ones apologizing when HE started the bickering,"

Sonic was beside him on the chair, listening in silence as he looked down on the ground. He chose to agree to disagree with Silver's statement. Shadow DID start the bicker but the immortal just stated the truth. Also, none of this would have happened if he didn't annoy the ebony one SO much that he agreed to help to return Silver home to the future.

Darren sighed. "Well, if Shadow gets into danger, this will deeply affect the rest of you. I, for one, will not be for they think that I hired you to be my assistants but I don't know you personally. The blame will not be turned over to me nor Trails but to you and Sonic for not… stopping Shadow's wrath,"

"He's got a point, Silv," Sonic quietly said. "Besides, what Shadow said was true, anyway…"

"No, it isn't." Silver growled, placing a hand Sonic's shoulder. "See? He's making you think that way but I see your point. Fine, let's go. I'm sure he isn't far,"

Sonic nodded then they exited the workshop and headed to their temporary quarters, as stated by Darren earlier, then they entered and heard blasts coming from their shared room.

"Do you hear that?" Silver asked, turning to the azure one.

"Yeah, I do," Sonic nodded. "It's coming from inside,"

"Oh boy," Silver sighed and rubbed his aching head. "Do we have a spare bedroom?"

"I'll ask Lord Darren later," Sonic bit his bottom lip. "Maybe we could share with Trails?"

"I doubt it. Let's just stop him before he destroys the WHOLE palace,"

"I couldn't agree more."

Silver took a deep breath then he placed on the doorknob and twisted it before gently pushing the door open.

"Shadow?" he whispered as they peeked in. "You in here?"

Their eyes widened, however, when they saw the being destroying the place.

It was Shadow. He was in his dark and angry form, his fur red and glowing as his eyes were full-on white while green Chaos Spears were both in one hand and forming in his other hand.

"Oh Chaos…" their ears pinned in fear as they trembled, gulping as they froze.

"LeAvE!" Shadow roared before speeding towards them.

"GAAAH!" The two shut the door and ran but failed to escape as the door was smashed open.

"YoU sHoUlD hAvE nEvEr CoMe HeRe!" Shadow threw a couple of Chaos Spears aimlessly. "NoW, yOu WiLl PeRiSh!"

He turned and noticed Silver struggling to escape so he raised his Chaos Spear at him. Silver looked up and his golden eyes shrunk in horror as the Chaos Spear was aimed and thrown at him.

"NOOO!" Sonic's emerald orbs widened before he rushed, coming in between them and causing him to get him by the Chaos Spear as he landed on the ground, looking like he was fried as green smoke cane out.

"Sonic!" Silver ran to the azure speedster before looking over to check him for injuries.

Shadow snapped back to reality as he landed back on the ground, his fur and eyes turning back to normal as he gazed at the others. "No…"

Silver carried the azure one then placed him on one of the beds, which was partly destroyed but that didn't matter anymore as he began to panic. He placed his ear on the speedster's chest and sighed in relief when he heard a heartbeat.

"Oh, thank Chaos…" he got up and turned to the ebony life-form staring at them. "…Shadow, why?"

Shadow simply sighed and sat down one of the charred chairs, turning away from the albino hedgehog, who groaned in defeat before looking down at the ground, nearly in tears.

After a couple of minutes of silence, a cough interrupted the growing tension and they turned to see Sonic gaining consciousness.

"Sonic!" Silver pulled the other into a hug. "You're alive!"

"Ugh, Silver?" Sonic kept on coughing until he was finally able to breathe. "W-What happened?"

"Shadow." Silver glared at the ebony hedgehog. "That's what happened,"

Sonic leaned forward a bit to see Shadow but the ebony one still had his quills towards them, not even bothering to look back at the younger hedgehogs. Silver's eyes glared at the ultimate life-form but immediately soften when he noticed the speedster beside him looking upset.

"Silver," he said in a quiet voice. "is what Shadow told us about ourselves is true?"

"Hmm?" Silver tilted his head. "No, why would you say that?"

"I mean, think about it," Sonic sighed. "He was always seen as a bad guy when he was made for a good purpose. Also, he's right; He's saved my life a lot of times and he's also helped us save the world from Eggman, Scourge, Mephiles, and so on, so forth. We, however, treat him like he's still the enemy when he's done so much for us. I think… No, I know we should apologize,"

Silver couldn't argue. Sonic was right. Shadow was a hero; an unappreciated hero of Möbius and someone who everyone knew as a villain when he was trying his hardest to be seen as a good hedgehog.

So, without hesitation, the two headed over to their ebony companion.

"Shadow,"

"What do you two want?" Shadow growled, not bothering to look up at them.

Sonic and Silver exchanged worried expressions before letting out a sight then they each sat on Shadow's sides.

"Shadow," Sonic began. "we're sorry,"

"No," Shadow shook his head. "why are you two apologizing? I started everything,"

"And we want to finish it," Silver placed a hand on the other's shoulder. "Come on, Shadow. For as long as I remember, none of us have been truly friends with each other. I mean, Sonic and I have technically become friends ever since he helped me stop accusing so many people of being evil but when it comes to you, you seem to always distance yourself from us. I don't know why you're doing that but maybe we can end that distance and become—"

"No!" Shadow stood up and blocked the others out. "I don't want to be friends!"

"But why?!" Silver stood up, looking up at the ebony life-form with a glare. "We just want to befriend you! What is your problem?!"

"My problem is that I DON'T want to have friends! I don't need them!"

"Yes, you do! Please, Shadow! Just for a little while!"

"I said 'NO'!"

Sonic pinned his ears as he watched the two bicker. He didn't want to join in, knowing he'd be told off anyway even if he tried so he just sat and watched tearfully.

"Why are you always like that?! Whenever we ASK for help, you help but whenever we OFFER help, YOU don't want our help! What is wrong with you?!"

"Wrong with me?! Why don't you care for my privacy, Silver?! I don't want any help cause I don't need it!"

"Why?! We see you out in a battle field, bleeding to hell and you STILL don't want to ask for help!"

"I can take it! I'm the ultimate life-form and I—"

"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU ARE OR WHO YOU ARE!" Silver was close to tears. "WHEN YOU NEED HELP, YOU NEED HELP!"

"NO! I DON'T NEED HELP! ESPECIALLY YOURS!"

"WHY NOT?!"

Finally, Shadow couldn't take it and just snapped.

"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO LOSE ANY OF YOU JUST BECAUSE OF ME!"

Sonic and Silver's eyes widened as the albino one fell back to sit down, both of them turning silent immediately. Shadow's eyes widened in realization before he fell to his knees, crying.

Silence had occupied the room for a long time until Sonic got up and sat beside the ebony life-form.

"Sh-Shadow…" he sniffled the tears threatening to come out. "I…"

Shadow looked up and could see the guilt in the other's emerald eyes so, without hesitation, he grabbed the hedgehog and pulled him into a hug. Sonic was shook but hugged back, crying on the ebony one's shoulder as he hugged tight.

"Shadow…" the ultimate life-form looked up to see Silver, whose eyes were tearful and puffy as he stood up. "I… I don't know what to say…"

But he was unable to finish as the ebony hedgehog suddenly pulled him to join the hug. Silver was surprised but hugged back, caressing Sonic's quills to calm him down from crying so much.

"This… is why I don't want to have friends…" Shadow began. "I don't want to lose them… I can't lose any more friends… I've already lost Maria… I can't… I can't lose you two too… Please…"

For every word he said, his grip on the two got tighter. Sonic and Silver felt it but didn't bother to struggle as they just returned the grip.

"Shadow," Silver finally let go to face the ebony one. "you won't lose us in that way. We promise you that but you will lose us in a way we'll never be close. You're pushing us away and it's making things worse. You know that we know that we're stronger when we're together. We always are…"

"I… guess you're right," Shadow sighed. "I'm sorry for being a distant emo-hog. I just… don't know what I'll do if I ever see the two of you get hurt in a battle… or worse…"

"Oh, Shadz!" Sonic cried harder and hugged tighter. "You're not the only one who worries! Neither me nor Silver want you hurt! Whenever we see you hurt or nearly dead, neither of us know what to do! I don't know what to do! Shadow, please…"

"Shh, shh," Shadow soothed the azure hedgehog. "I… I never thought anyone would try to care for me…"

"Well, we try and we do care, Shadow," Silver placed a hand on the ebony hedgehog's shoulder. "You're like a brother to us and you act like a brother too. Don't lie cause there are times either of us protective. Especially for Sonic,"

"Hey!" Sonic pouted.

Shadow and Silver joined together for a chuckle before ruffling the azure one's quills. Sonic flinched and frowned.

"Anyway," the albino hedgehog continued. "let's stop worrying and place our worries aside. Please, Shadow. If you don't want to lose us then stop fighting us and help us protect each other. It's the best option we got… especially since we need to get back… together…"

Shadow looked up at Silver and nodded, standing up and lifting Sonic up with him. "You're right. It's time for a change. Let's head back up before Darren blows his top,"

"You mean, 'Lord Darren'?" Sonic teased, finally letting go and wiping his tears.

"Yeah, yeah," Shadow rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Let's go back to 'Lord Darren' and 'assist' him since we are his 'assistants', after all,"

"Right," Silver grinned. "Let's go!"

And that's what they did. With their arms locked around each other's arm, they made their way out of the chambers and up the stairs.


	10. Meeting The Royals

**_A/N Okay, I don't want to give a spoiler but I didn't kill as much people as the story originally is for LiyuConberma. Some certain hedgehogs are still alive, that's for sure. Also, Rakar isn't evil here. I… am not really comfortable with that part of the OG. But then, Kaze still lost his wings in Möbius. TT_**

**_Also, Benonic's sign language is in brackets while his voice is in normal. Well, if he tries but not in here. :P_**

**_Enjoy!_**

**_X_**

"Ah, you're back," Darren smiled as he spotted the three return to his Workshop of Books And Spells. "I assume things worked out well?"

"Yep!" Sonic exclaimed. "Things went great!"

"And I'm sorry for being snappy earlier," Silver apologized. "I guess my temper rose a bit,"

"It is alright," Darren's response to the apology was calm. "Well, now that things are settled, Kaze would be expecting us in the throne room. Grandfather Negolas, Father and Uncle Rakar would be returning from visiting one of the allied kingdoms for trading any time soon. Also, you need to meet Mother and Benonic, even if Ben would be…"

He sighed. "…suspicious of you three once he sees you,"

"Uh, okay?" Shadow scratched his head.

"Come, let us go," Darren made his way out of the workshop.

"Coming, Lord Darren!" Trails came behind him.

"Uh-huh," Silver flicked his ears. "That was weird,"

"Yeah," Sonic tilted his head. "Why would his eldest brother be suspicious of us? Is it because we look like King Kaze's children?"

"Maybe," Shadow felt an uneasy feeling come to his chest and gut. "Stay close to me and be alert. I don't want you two out of my sight with that 'Benonic' guy around. Got it?"

"Got it!" Sonic raised a thumbs up.

"Well, well, well," Silver cheekily chuckled. "someone's beginning to warm up to us,"

"Well," Shadow shrugged. "a change is a change and we need to keep alert. We don't know who's our ally and who's our enemy. All that we know is that we have each other for an ally so we have to stick by each other all we can,"

Sonic and Silver nodded in agreement before the three of them ran off to follow Darren and Trails.

X

"Darren!" Grand-Queen Athena Hedgehog, Kaze, Benonic, and Darren's mother, ran up to her third son and embraced him into a warm hug. "Oh, how I've missed you, my youngest! How are things?"

"I am alright, thank you, Mother," Darren smiled before they pulled away. "I would like to introduce to you and Benonic my new hired assistants,"

Benonic Hedgehog, the Protector-Assassin of Cosium, went beside his mother and brother as Sonic, Silver and Shadow came forward and bowed. Athena smiled at their manners and did a curtesy.

"Greetings and welcome to Cosium Castle!" she greeted. "I am Grand-Queen Athena. I am the mother of Kaze and Darren,"

She turned and motioned towards the deformed, purple hedgehog beside her. "And this, on the other hand, is my eldest son, the Protector-Assassin of Cosium; Benonic Hedgehog. Wave hi, Benonic,"

Benonic gave a bow before obliging with the wave.

"He can't speak," Athena added, sympathy in her voice. "His teeth are too sharp for him to move his mouth so he does sign language instead,"

Shadow nodded, internally being thankful that he and the others could understand sign language, and bowed back.

"Greetings, Grand-Queen and Protector-Assassin," he spoke in most polite tone as he could possibly speak. "I am Terios, Terios Hedgehog. These two are my dear comrades; Venice Hedgehog and Maurice Hedgehog. It's an honor to be here, your majesties. To work for the royals of Cosium is such an honor,"

"Oh, such kind words for our family and our kingdom!" Athena's smile widened. "I'm sure you're doing an excellent job assisting my son in assorting all the books and scrolls in the castle,"

"Of course!" Shadow, much to his own surprise, smiled back at her naturally. "It is an honor to help the great wizard in his work,"

Sonic and Silver exchanged confused glances before shrugging and smiling along. Benonic noticed their hesitation and narrowed his eyes at them before turning to Athena.

"[Mother, are you sure they are trustworthy?]" he signed.

"Oh don't be silly, Ben!" Athena laughed off her eldest's suspicion. "Of course they're trustworthy! Your little brother Darren hired them, did he not? If Darren trusts them, we should too. You trust Darren, don't you?"

"[I… do…]" Benonic was hesitant on his signing. "[But… it's just them I can't seem to trust…]"

Shadow growled under his breath at what the assassin spoke through sign. 'Well, that idiot is DEFINITELY in my "TO KILL" list…'

'Man, this hedgehog looks scary…' Sonic gulped.

'Great, the royal family has an ASSASSIN for a member…' Silver sighed. 'Why can't Zone-Hopping be safer for us…'

"Ben, calm down," Kaze came forward with Sapphire and placed a hand on his eldest brother's shoulder with a smile. "I've met these three already so I know they're trustworthy,"

"[I suppose so…]" Benonic still felt doubtful as he kept his blade near him. "[But I will still need to keep my guard up.]"

"As you please, Ben," Kaze knew there was no other way so he let his brother be. "Anyway, now that the introductions have been set, we can head to the castle gates and wait for Grandfather Negolas, Father, and Uncle Rakar to arrive from their trading journey,"

"Yes, of course!" Athena was excited as she wrapped her arm around Benonic's. "Come, everyone! We can't keep them waiting!"

With that, she and Benonic went ahead. Kaze and Sapphire followed, leaving Darren and his 'assistants' behind.

"Nice acting, Shadz!" Sonic complimented the ebony hedgehog.

"I agree!" Silver grinned. "How'd you learn how to talk like that?"

"That's how I talk in front of the Queen back in Möbius," Shadow replied with a shrug. "It's no big deal. It's pretty easy acting,"

"Did you mean what you said, though?" Sonic asked.

"Tsk," Shadow chuckled and shook his head. "As if. Lying to her face was the easiest thing I've ever done,"

"Enjoy it while it last," Darren groaned, folding his arms. "When father arrives, you can never lie to his face. All words you say will have to be truthful,"

"Why is that?" Silver tilted his head, confused.

"It's because he has a gift of knowing the truth from others, segregating lies and feelings outside from the facts and feelings within a person's heart,"

"So… we can't lie?" Sonic wondered.

"Not exactly," Shadow smirked. "We can still find a loophole through that 'special gift' of his,"

"And… how can that be?" Darren raised an eyebrow.

"We can still lie but make sure we mean everything we say, as if we're telling the truth. That way we can still fib while him doubt it it's a lie or not,"

"So, you want to confuse my father?"

"Either that or would you rather let him find out and tell King Kaze what really happened to his children?" Silver folded his arms and turned to the wizard.

Darren's eyes widened in realization before he sighed in defeat. "I… I guess… it's better to try to trick and confuse Father then let the secret be exposed through his own mouth…"

"Exactly!" Shadow pointed out. "Now, come on! Before Protector-Assassin Benonic gets anymore ideas on not to trust us…"

X

"They're here!" Kaze excitedly exclaimed the moment he heard galloping horse followed by carriage wheels coming from a distance. "They're finally here!"

"Settle down, dear," Sapphire laughed at her husband's enthusiasm. "I know you're excited but please settle down,"

"Sapphire's right, Kaze," Athena agreed with a nod. "Though I am excited as well. I haven't seen your father for two months! I can't wait to see what he got us from his trip!"

Benonic smiled through his mask while Darren and Trails said nothing as the three hedgehogs behind them exchanged worried glances.

"What if we get caught by the Grand-King?" Sonic gulped. "We'll get exposed for sure!"

"Just be quiet and let me, Shadow and Lord Darren do all the talking," Silver told him.

"What? How is that gonna help?"

"It's because we all know that you're a TERRIBLE liar," Shadow chuckled.

Sonic turned red in embarrassment before pouting. "Hmph! Not true…"

"Shh!" Silver shushed them before pointing forward. "The carriage is getting closer!"

Silver wasn't kidding. The moment the two were shushed, a white carriage pulled up in front of the group. Once the horses were steady, the driver hopped off and opened the door then bowed.

Suddenly, a brown boot stepped out of the carriage before an ebony hedgehog with brown eyes, chest fur and quills that resembled Darren's came out. Behind him followed a brown hedgehog with red eyes and tied-up quills with red stripes as he three scars on his right eye while he had a small amount of her hair on the left side of his head. Finally, the last one to come out was an ebony hedgehog with red stripes and eyes as he held a cane on his right hand, despite looking as if he was a young adult himself.

"Father!" Kaze rushed himself to the first hedgehog, immediately pulling him into an embrace.

Benonic and Darren followed behind their brother's action before Mortesen, the Grand-King of Cosium, smiled and hugged his sons back.

"Oh how I've missed you boys so much!" he said as he released them from his grip. "I see you're still the gentlemen you were grown into?"

"Yes, father!" Kaze proudly held his head high.

"[Of course.]" Benonic nodded.

"As usual," Darren shrugged.

"Very good, boys," Negolas, the Great Grand-King of Cosium, joined the group. "Your father and I are proud that nothing has misled any of you into evil deeds,"

"For that, my dear nephews, we have presents from the trip to give to all of you," Rakar, the Grand-Royal Adviser of Cosium, smiled as he got a sack from the back of the carriage. "Including our grandchildren,"

Darren gulped. 'Oh dear…'

"Actually, Uncle Rakar," Kaze explained. "the boys are in Atlantis to stay with King Posiden and Queen Marissa for a few days so you'll just have to give their presents when they arrive,"

"Hmm, that's strange," Athena seemed confused. "Marissa would always tell me whenever the boys were with her and Posiden,"

Sonic, Silver and Shadow held their breaths before turning to Trails, whose eyes tried not to give away his fear as he trembled. Darren, on the other hand, was internally trying to tell himself to stay calm.

"Well, I'm sure Mother and Father just forgot," Sapphire replied with a smile. "They're always busy running Atlantis and I'm sure the boys are having fun with the dolphins and the fishes there,"

"Well, that settles that," Mortesen grinned. "Now, let's head inside and maybe introduce these three?"

He motioned at Sonic, Shadow and Silver, who all froze in surprise when the attention was suddenly on them. Darren wanted to gulp but shook off his fright as he tried to calmly enter the conversation.

"They're my hired assistants, Father," he explained, trying to mean what he said, as Shadow suggested. "This ebony one is Terios Hedgehog, this albino one is Venice Hedgehog and this azure one is Maurice Hedgehog,"

"Greetings, your majesties," Silver spoke with all his heart, and nervousness, as they all bowed.

Mortesen narrowed his eyes at them. 'My gift… isn't helping me to check if they're a danger or not. His words are true but his emotions are mixed! What's going on here…'

"Welcome to Cosium Castle," Negolas interrupted his eldest son's thoughts with a big greeting. "I'm sure you'll do a great job assisting my youngest grandson on his work here,"

"We'll do our best," Shadow forced in a smile and tried to mean what he said after noticing Mortesen's eyes on them. 'This guy's gonna be the end of us, as much as Benonic. We need to find a way out of here and fast…'


	11. Battle Of Immortals

**_A/N This should be a fun and slightly gore-ish chapter. Well, I HOPE it's slightly gore but no promises! :P_**

**_X_**

Night came and most of the Royals were getting ready for bed.

As the Protector-Assassin of the kingdom, Benonic was one of the ones awake and out on night patrol with the other guards. He stood in one of the hallways, his eyes wondering around for anything suspicious.

Suddenly, a footstep was heard so he turned to the source of the sound. He took out his blade and kept it near him as he slowly advanced. A series of footsteps were heard and it made him grip his blade tighter as the stranger got closer and closer.

"WHO IS THERE?!" he spoke in a hoarse voice that made his lip bleed once it came in contact with his teeth.

At last, the light from the window illuminated the tan muzzle and the up-right, red-striped quills of Shadow. The ultimate life form chuckled as his ears flickered.

"And I thought Grand-Queen Athena said you couldn't talk," he commented as the other entered into the light so both could see each other clearly.

Benonic lowered his hand but didn't keep his blade as he used his free hand to talk. "[I can but it hurts me if I do.]"

"Tsk," Shadow rolled his eyes. "for an assassin, you're pretty weak,"

"[Be careful of your words, boy.]"

"Why? It's true, anyway,"

"[What are you even out here this late?]"

"I could ask the same to you," Shadow folded his arms.

Benonic scoffed. "[I'm the Protector-Assassin on this kingdom and I stay up to help the guards watch over the castle. What's your excuse?]"

"I'm the Ultimate Life-form. I don't need to eat, drink or sleep."

"[But you just ate dinner.]"

"You want me to be rude when Grand-Queen Athena let us eat with them?" Shadow raised an eye brow. "And anyway, I gave most of my food to So—Maurice. Yeah, I gave my food to him cause I knew he's the hungry guy out of all of us,"

Of course, this correction didn't go unnoticed by Benonic, whose ears flickered as he glared at the other.

Shadow, on the other hand, knew he had been noticed by the Protector-Assassin for too long so he turned and made his way to the window.

"[And where are you heading off to?]" Benonic signed as he watched the younger hedgehog leave.

"Out on the roofs," Shadow replied, placing his hands by the sides of the window and one of his feet by the wall. "It's better to get a bird's eye view of the palace and the kingdom so it's easier to protect, unlike staying in here. It feels like you're protecting yourself just as much as the others. From above, I'll be able to see anyone who would try to enter the kingdom and I would able to know the reason why. That is all, goodnight."

With that, he slipped out of the window and headed to the tallest tower. He went on it's roof and looked down at the view.

He was right. He could see the whole kingdom from up there. It was a perfect place to watch and rest…

X

The next day, the sun shone bright in the morning as everyone began to get up to start the day.

The Royals of Cosium were gathered in the dining hall, having breakfast. Trails, Sonic and Silver were with them but kept silent as the Royal Family ate, chatted and laughed about the stories Mortesen, Rakar and Negolas got when they were traveling. As they did, Athena suddenly noticed that there was someone missing at the table.

"Maurice? Venice?" she called the attention of the two, who looked up after her call as everyone else turned their attentions to them.

"Yes, Grand-Queen?" Silver spoke to respond.

"Where is Terios? I haven't seen him all morning,"

Darren felt nervous, actually not knowing where the ebony teen was at that moment. 'Oh Cosmos, where is that hedgehog?'

"Uh…" Silver's ears pinned in realization. "I don't know…"

"Didn't he sleep last night?" Kaze asked.

"We were already tired so we didn't see if he slept with us or not," Sonic admitted.

"Oh, dear," Sapphire felt worried. "I hope nothing terrible happened to him,"

"Benonic, did you see him around the castle last night?" Mortesen turned to his eldest.

"[Yes.]" Benonic nodded after signing. "[But I don't know where he went after heading to the roof.]"

"Doesn't he need sleep?" Negolas started getting suspicions in his voice. "That hedgehog doesn't know how unhealthy it is to not sleep at night!"

Sonic nearly jumped at the loud voice of the elderly hedgehog, nearly dropping the spoon on his hands in surprise. Silver placed a hand on his comrade's shoulder and smiled then he turned back to the Royals with a calm expression.

"With all do respect, Great-Grand-King Negolas," he slowly said. "Terios doesn't need sleep. He can last at least a month without it. You see, he isn't a normal hedgehog. He wasn't born. He was made so he doesn't really need the necessities of a normal being,"

In his head, he was thankful that he didn't say 'mobian', knowing that Kaze hates Möbius and mobians, from what Darren told them the previous night.

"So, Terios will be okay?" Sapphire asked.

"Yes, I will."

Everyone turned to see Shadow come out from a window, landing on the floor with ease. He walked towards them and bowed.

"I apologize for being late, your majesties," he said. "And for making you worry,"

"It is alright," Kaze smiled. "At least you're alright,"

"What took you long?" Rakar questioned, his eyes narrowed at the masked ebony one.

"Lost track of time," Shadow shrugged.

"Oh do be careful next time, Terios," Athena warned with a worried voice. "We thought something terrible happened to you,"

"I'm fine, your highnesses. Don't need to worry about me," Shadow turned and began to walk out of the dining hall. "I'll just head back to the chambers to prepare for work. Maurice, Venice, come with me,"

Sonic and Silver exchanged confused glances but nodded anyway before they placed down their utensils, pushed their chairs back and jumped off then they followed their ebony comrade out of the dining hall.

Darren sighed in frustration. He excused himself from breakfast then he grabbed Trails and ran off to follow his 'assistants'.

X

Later that morning, Trails was out in the garden to fix his contraption to bring the boys back. Sonic, Silver and Shadow had to help while Darren had to manage them so no one would be suspicious on what they were doing.

…Unfortunately, as they did, the two ebony hedgehogs were getting in a little… argument.

"If you had just stayed in your chambers last night then Benonic wouldn't have seen you nor get more suspicious of you than he already is!" Darren scolded, his third eye glowing in rage.

"Well, it isn't MY fault I don't need to sleep at night!" Shadow argued with a growl. "Besides, YOU'RE the wizard! You can use your little hocus-pokus to alter Benonic's mind!"

"I can't keep messing with the mind of my brothers! THAT is technically betraying them and betraying them is TREASON!"

"Then just tell them the GODDAMN TRUTH!"

"If I tell them the truth, THEY WOULD BE IN SHOCK! I TOLD YOU ALREADY THAT IF THEY EVER FIND OUT THAT THE BOYS ARE IN MÖBIUS AND THAT YOU THREE ARE FROM MÖBIUS AND ARE HERE TO TAKE THEIR PLACES, IT WILL BE A NIGHTMARE FOR THEM!"

"LIKE I SAID, THEY AREN'T MY PARENTS! WHY THE HELL SHOULD I FUCKING CARE FOR THE FEELINGS OF THOSE SHITBAGS I DON'T FUCKING KNOW?!"

Darren was placed into silence for a while before all of his eyes glowed full-on green. "YOU ARE GOING TO PAY FOR INSULTING MY KING AND QUEEN!"

He grew vines from the ground and aimed it at Shadow. The masked ebony one growled and lit up his Chaos Spears, destroying the vines that grew before it could get to him.

"I'm tired of this shit…" Shadow took out two Chaos Spears and threw it at Darren.

The wizard dodged it, near-missing the second one before falling when Shadow pounced on him with clenched fists.

"No! Stop!" Trails wanted to intervene but Sonic and Silver grabbed him and pulled him back.

"No, Trails!" the albino hedgehog told the wolf. "He'll kill you if you try!"

"But Lord Darren—"

"We can't save him if we get burned ourselves!" the azure one yelled, his ears pinned in fear and panic.

"AAARGH!" the three turned their heads and gasped to see Shadow going crazy as he kept on punching the hedgehog wizard with no mercy.

"Stop this!" Darren cried out, blood spitting from his mouth while his face was covered in bruises. "I understand that you're angry but stop! Before someone sees you—!"

"DARREN!"

The group froze and turned to see Benonic running towards them, anger in his eyes as he took out a sword. He kicked Shadow to the side then picked up Darren with both arms.

"[Are you alright?]" he asked by signing with his free hand.

"Y-Yes," Darren tried to sound convincing but the blood coming out from his words betrayed what he felt.

"Oh dear! Darren!" The rest of the Royal Family ran into the garden, with Kaze and Athena running ahead of everyone as they went to the brothers.

"What happened, Ben?!" Kaze asked their big brother as Athena took her youngest in her arms.

"[Betrayal. That's what.]" Benonic growled, pointing his blade towards Shadow, who glared at the Royals as he rubbed his aching arm.

"It's NOT betrayal!" he roared, gritting his teeth. "Lord Darren was bothering me like hell! He kept on arguing with me about my actions last night! AS IF I CAN GET OUT OF COMFORT ZONE AND HABITS!"

"[How dare you blame our little brother for this mess?!]" Benonic narrowed his eyes at the other. "[You were the one going crazy to kill him! And if you mess with him, you deal with me!]"

With that, he sped to the masked ebony hedgehog, who was shocked and unprepared the moment the Protector-Assassin attacked.

Benonic took off his metal mask, showing his sharp teeth and his bleeding mouth before using his sharp claws to fight. He elbowed Shadow at his side and kicked him on his stomach then he gripped his claws on his back and threw him up in the air. He then jumped up and clawed the other's face then he took out his sword and slashed his opponent's arms before kicking him down, sending the ebony hedgehog to the ground.

Shadow got up on his knees, blood dripping from the cuts on his face and arms as he weakly looked up at Benonic with gritted teeth, which also had blood coming out of it.

The Protector-Assassin looked down at him before pointing the blade at the other's head. "[Any last words, boy?]"

"Y-Yeah," Shadow chuckled, a grin coming to his face as he shakily stood up. "It's my turn to win and your turn to suffer,"

He lifted his upper arms and slowly took the rings he had on his wrists off, making them fall on the grass with a thud. Immediately, his whole body went into flames, his eyes glowing fiery red as he began to rise from the grass.

"CHAOS BLAST!" he roared and a blast of light was aimed at the Protector-Assassin.

"Benonic!" Athena ran to the front to protect her eldest. "I won't let you hurt him!"

"ATHENA! NO!" Mortesen yelled.

"Mother!" Kaze and Darren shouted, their eyes widening in horror as the blast was going towards the Grand-Queen.

Luckily, Benonic was quick enough to intervene. He went in front of Athena and hugged her to protect her, his back against the danger in front of them.

"Benonic, don't—!"

BOOM! The blast hit them and Athena screamed. A flash of light came after then when it ceased, Benonic still had her in his protection.

"Ben…?" Kaze took a step forward, tears forming in his eyes.

Benonic's back was burnt, all the way to his knees and elbows as he looked at them for a while before falling.

"Benonic!" Athena went down on her knees and cradled the purple hedgehog, tears rolling down her cheeks. "No…"

"Oh Chaos…" Silver gasped while Sonic placed both his hands on his mouth in shock.

Shadow stared down at the scene, no emotion or care in his eyes as he aimed another blast at them.

"No!" Sapphire ran in front of Athena and Benonic, shielding them from the ebony one. "Don't you dare hurt them!"

Suddenly, Shadow stopped, his eyes widening as he froze when the female merhog was in his way before he growled.

"Get out of my way." he threatened by aiming his hand at her albino quills. "Or else."

"Go ahead." Sapphire bravely stood tall. "I dare you."

Suddenly, a sensation came to Shadow, Silver and Sonic simultaneously, making them all react to the situation involuntarily.

"DON'T HURT HER!" the younger hedgehogs yelled at once then they paused, confused at what they just said. 'Wait a second, what did we just say?!'

Shadow turned to them, just as confused before beginning to float away a bit, his chaos-powered form beginning to disappear with his anger but he couldn't get rid of it without using the last of his powerful Chaos Blast. So, to end things there and then, he made one final blast.

At himself.

"AAAARGH!" he roared out in pain before a blast of light came.

Everyone in the garden shielded their eyes to keep the light from blinding them. Once it ceased, they looked up to see Shadow back to his normal form, still hovering a bit in the air. His eyes were closed while his limbs were hanging down, showing that he was obviously unconscious. Then, little by little, he was dropping until he fell to the ground and on his sides.

"No!" Sonic sped towards his ebony comrade, falling to his knees and holding the other close.

Silver blinked in shock then he hesitantly walked towards his azure companion. "Maurice?"

But the azure hedgehog wasn't listening. Instead, his eyes were wide, as if he had lost his mind, as he rocked back and forward.

"Please don't get amnesia… please don't get amnesia… please don't get amnesia…" Sonic kept on repeating and muttering under his breath.

"Maurice, calm down," Silver tried to reach out but failed. "Maurice, snap out of it. Terios is fine…"

"No, he's not!" Sonic hugged Shadow tighter, tears rolling down his cheeks. "This isn't the first time and you know that… that…"

The last of his words were drowned in by his crying, his wet, crystal tears staining on the ebony one's chest fur. Silver sighed and looked back at the Royals.

Kaze and Darren were holding Benonic while Athena was crying on Mortesen's shoulder. Rakar and Negolas were looking worried as Sapphire glared straight at them.

"Y-Your highness," Silver gulped and stepped forward then he bowed. "I… I apologize for the, er, chaos that just happened and I—"

"Just," Sapphire quickly interrupted. "get Terios under control. Please."

Silver bit his bottom lip nervously but nodded. He turned and went to Sonic, whispering something in his ear before the azure one nodded and grabbed his arm then they sped off to their chambers.

Darren saw this and groaned. He went over to Trails and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Let's go." he whispered then he turned to his family and spoke in a clear voice. "I'll settle this matter. I promise."

"Be careful, Darren." Mortesen warned, worry in his voice. "I have a bad feeling that they will cause more trouble than they already have."

"Understood, father," Darren nodded then he grabbed Trails.

"Chaos… CONTROL!"

And with a poof of green fire, they were gone.


End file.
